Beginning with his Republican roots in Ireland and proceeding through a traditional formation in the Jesuit order, Johnston then describes the impact of journeying to Japan in 1951, where his exposure to Asian culture and Zen practice leads to a rediscovery of the mystical traditions of Christianity and transformation of his own spiritual practice.

Enlivened by encounters with such figures as Pedro Arrupe, the saintly Jesuit superior general, the American monk Thomas Merton, Japanese Catholic novelist Shusaku Endo, and the Dalai Lama, Johnston’s story is a remarkably frank and revealing self-portrait by a man whose spiritual quest has never ended.